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I'm trying to figure out if this is a lucrative business to get into - helping dog owners with their travel needs in the Smoky Mountains. You're all aware of the many travel websites, but additionally there are hundreds of dog-friendly cabin rental websites. Anyone can find this information for free, but not everyone has the time. If you were coming to this area for the first time and had some sort of special requirement for a cabin, would you be willing to pay an additional fee to a travel consultant? I couldn't give you a discount on the cabin rate. This seems to be a service geared toward people with many requirements rather than completely flexible. I wonder if some people would want me to visit a cabin location to see if it meets their needs.
Most cabins don't want dogs on the furniture and require crating when you're gone. Don't you think that turns some people off, or would they be willing to pay an extra cleaning fee? I know how hard it can be to keep a dog off a bed or couch. Hotels don't usually have these requirements, but cabins are usually more appealing than hotels.
I know there's ways to make money with a website without charging people, but I really want to become self-sufficient with this and perhaps have different levels of consulting fees. I appreciate any input on what you'd be willing to pay for (however small - like $25). Some days this seems like such a great idea, and other days I feel I just don't have enough to offer people.
I don't see it as lucrative. It's a unique area that not everyone would want to go and I think you might be better off getting the $25 from the cabin owners for you to find them customers. I doubt any would want to cater to pet people, but if they do that's a marketing edge for them.
I think in order to be lucrative you need to expand nationally.
I'm currently planning our spring vacation to Northern California with the dog. I'm looking on VRBO for the type of rental I want with specific amenities, there are a lot of choices and I have the time to do so but not everyone does. If I didn't have the time paying someone to do the research and give me 5 or so options would be worthwhile. I would also be willing to pay for a tailored up to date list of restaurants, parks, beaches and vineyards that are dog friendly. Also on that list vital numbers like reputable vets, groomers, pet stores.
Just my 2 cents, hope you can make a business of it.
Thanks very much, outsiders opinions REALLY help. There does seem to be a problem of a lot of dog sites with out of date information.
Dogmama, there is an awesome CA dog site called dogtrekker that may be of interest to you, but I'm not sure if it does northern CA.
Thanks very much, outsiders opinions REALLY help. There does seem to be a problem of a lot of dog sites with out of date information.
Dogmama, there is an awesome CA dog site called dogtrekker that may be of interest to you, but I'm not sure if it does northern CA.
Thanks, I'll look up dogtrekker, always good to have another site to look at.
I wouldn't pay for the service because I can find the information for free. However, if you are talking about holiday homes just in your immediate area. I might be willing to pay a small fee to have someone deliver a large dog crate with a thick bed and some other dog equipment for my stay.
If I am flying, I want the dog to have a bigger crate if I have to leave the dog crated when I am out of the house. Even driving, most people don' have a car big enough for a large crate for everyone.
I might also pay for a baby-sitting service to take care of my dogs while I see local attractions that do not allow pets. I'd really not like to leave my dogs in crates in a strange place while I am gone all day.
So maybe, you can put together a network of pet sitters and crate delivery service. If something like that exists, I haven't heard about it. Although, when I travel with my pets, I travel in a different way, so I might not be aware of every possible service out there.
Thanks!! I have thought about the large crate issue but never thought of "renting" them out. Some people will want to do lots of things with their dogs but other pooches will be stuck alone for hours. Two different sets of needs. Thanks again.
Well.. there are sites like bringfido.com that I find helpful!!!
We travel every year with our Roman.
We actually plan vaca tailored ard him.. he knows n loves it too.
So far we been visiting dog friendly locales like Virginia areas, outerbanks, Pittsburgh. Stayed in dog friendly motels n cottage in OBX. Even ate at dog friendly restaurants.
We dun bring crates. My Roman is 160lbs easy and his crate will not fit. He kind easily break open any crates.. there are too many examples. He does better at tethering than crates. He just lay in a spot and mop around (when we go visit in laws. Although I basically stick with him like glue when visiting my in-laws and will walk him 3-5 times or more to "get away" if I can. Thus he never minded tethering. Yes, I fuss over him like a mother hen hence Roman never has separation anxiety and behaves like an aloof teenager who can't stand the mom nagging after too long. Lol!!!
hmmm we rented a lot of cabins out here on the left coast, always sorted through the listings by hand- those restrictions are pretty standard.
Most websites (the ones we used you screen for "dog friendly") so I don't know how much your service would generate from people-
maybe if you marketed yourself as some sort of pet concierge- you knew the local pet kennels, good local vet in case of emergencies, local dog friendly lakes and hikes, etc... in addition to cabins that were dog friendly and that didn't just allow dogs but were well suited to them-
Once we rented a great beach house (cliff over the beach) but there was a housing development right behind it (this was not described) and it wasn't fenced - at all-- plus there was a lot of deer covered in ticks!
In all the years camping and backpacking and renting cabins-
this one was the only one were our dogs came back INFESTED in ticks.
Totally a stressful weekend (always researched carefully after that)...
You could place your ad in dog magazines , and maybe get a fee from people with cabins to have theirs listed with your service.
I could see myself paying $25 in an area I wasn't familiar with for a great, dog friendly cabin ... it takes the guesswork out of if the cabin would be fun for us - and our dogs (we had big active dogs too, not little house dogs)...
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